However, I will humbly defer, due to an acute allergy to all bad ju-ju and other such superstitious toxins. I learned my lesson after taking Wichita State a little too casually and as a result experiencing four or five apoplectic cardiac arrhythmias during Saturday evening’s semifinal game.

This is extremely important, and often overlooked by fans of the Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas and Santa Anita Derbies (the other noted Triple Crown prep races). While there’s much difference in attitude between my native home and my adopted one, there’s actually very little difference in overall climates. We might get slightly milder winters and less hurricanes down here in the Bluegrass, but for the most part our weather patterns, up to an including ambient temperatures are very similar.

Moreover, the Wood Memorial at Acqueduct , is conducted in a similarly aged (and aging) facility, and on a dirt track — no small matter in this age of synthetic (read “rubber”) surfaces. So I like the winner of this race way better than I do the palm-swaying pooftahs down in California or Florida. Mind you, The Illinois Derby (which is no longer considered a Derby prep), in Cicero, IL, is another similarly-conditioned race, but it never seems to draw the same top flight competition that the Wood, Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana and Santa Anita races do.

(Rumor has it the Illinois was dropped from the Derby trials because Gap and Yap has been caught waving a sparking taser at the horses there one too many times, and they lost their insurance coverage.)

Pulling back to Verrazano, he’s a plucky “working” horse with a lot of muscle to him, and he reminds me of former Kentucky Derby winner Fusiachi Pegasus in that regard. He ran something of a slow Wood Memorial (finish time for the 1 and 1/8 miler was 1:50:37) , but that could mean nothing, given he was only following the pace horse (ChrisandtheCapper) for the first three quarters of his run, and biding his time to make his move. What’s important is that he held of his competition in a very game Vyjack (who fell to third after going neck and neck), and a surging Normandy Invasion, who took second at the wire.

The only smoke on his horizon may be that Verrazano’s jockey, John Velasquez, who also rode Florida Derby winner Orb (see below), got hurt late yesterday in a fall at Acqueduct. A change in jockey can be a big problem for a young horse

I also like Orb, the Florida Derby winner and of course Goldencents (whatta name!), the Rick Pitino-owned colt that just took the Santa Anita Derby prep from Bob Baffert-trained favorite Flashback. I will have more to say about those ponies in the coming weeks, but for now, let’s hope Verrazano is not a Bridge Too Far.

Keep #6 and his family in your thoughts and prayers tonight as he battles the Great Sandy Storm Surge of 2012 from the burgeoning tides of the West Village. He’s currently okay, although I think the water made it up to the ground floor of his place near the newly enlarged Hudson River.

And all the rest of my boys up there in the Northeast, including Monsieur le Docteur du Fly, take care of yourselves up there and don’t do anything crazy like trying to drive out of a flooded area. And beware of downed power lines in puddles. Bad combo.

The good news is that the market will likely open with a fresh wave of Bernanke Bucks sluicing its clogged bowels. Silver is my trade here, and I will likely be adding on Wednesday.

Best to you all, especially all of you dealing with this Sandy Hurricanoe.

The above is satire, of course, but let’s not laugh too hard at the funny kiddies. In certain European states, the “path to success” is through the government bureaucracies. Is the U.S. approaching that level? Food for thought.

If you have not already, you should be trimming your silver and gold positions, or at least the leveraged ones. We’ve had nice move here, so let’s not get too greedy. I’m out of AGQ, NUGT and ERX as of this morning. I’ve also trimmed between 35-50% of the remainder of my largest positions.

Have a great Friday.

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Bonus Crony! This goes out to the speech stomping Jim H, (D- Croneyville).

I just got home and it looks like the golds/silvers had a crappy day, but it also looks like the dollar is falling tonight while the commodity complex, and especially earl, are rallying. Oversold and out of favor are my two favorite paradigms, but I’m not telling you what to do if you are nervous here.

Me? I’m gonna do like Slim and ride the bomb. I’ve got meetings all over again first thing tomorrow so I won’t be able to look in via anything else but Crackberry til mid afternoon. In the meantime, if you’d like to discuss things, open-thread style — and that means anything — I declare this blog a Mario Savio Free Speech Zone.

Actually, Rick Pitino, disgraced coach of the Louisville Cardinals basketball team, was born in Manhattan and ended up going to high school at St. Dominic’s in Oyster Bay, Long Island (high cotton). In other words, he’s not the gomatta (sic)- slinging gangster he’s made himself out to be these last ten years in Louisville, bulgy eyes and dark double-breasted suits aside. He’s actually kind of soft to tell the truth.

How else can anyone explain a 31-point Cardinal loss to the crappy Providence Friars, a team from a city some claim is in Rhode Island, which is allegedly a member of the Union wedged into New England somewhere. Rumor is that the Friars are not named after the chicken tenders crew at Popeyes at all, but in fact a clerical sect known for celibacy, stinky beer and infrequent group bathing. I’m awaiting confirmation and will get back to you when my investigators complete their report.

In any case, I’m tired of it. In seeking some resolution, I’ve assembled a crew of recently released minor felons who will accost Rick at the Standiford Field Airport and bundle him into a black limousine headed for Bushwick, Brooklyn. Upon arrival, Rick will be stripped down to his wife beater tee and skivvies and instructed not to return until he’s brought back a set of rabbit ear antennae from the local Robert P. Moses housing project.

Rick needs to get his “mojo” back, and find that inner hard ass that will terrify these young men into perfoming on the hard court like a Pitino team of old. I’m only doing what I can in the most exigent and dire of circumstances.

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I will be looking to lighten up tomorrow on some of these positions that are up so far in this year. The dollar is rebounding as I type, and while gold and silver are staying upright, I think they are due for a pullback and I will therefore trim accordingly. I suggest you set tight stops on ANY green action tomorrow. 3-5%, tops.

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